Today we’re speaking Wendie Huis in 't Veld, the main discussion is about how Wendie became aware that she is autistic and how systems help her.| Big Orange Heart
For this year's World Autism Acceptance Day, I made these fifty pictures and shared them to Autistic Not Weird's Facebook page [all links open in new tabs]. For those who don't already follow it, or want| Autistic Not Weird
It doesn’t seem quite right, does it? That a month designated for raising public knowledge of autism would be so widely disliked by the autistic people it claims to support. But just to clarify: the| Autistic Not Weird
The two questions above are among the most commonly asked by parents of newly-diagnosed autistic children. And wouldn’t it be great if there were a one-sentence answer to it? Sadly, it doesn’t work like that. But here’s my advice, as an autistic man who used to be an autistic child, who gets asked this question a lot. Full disclosure: this is a rewrite of an article that I wrote five years ago (way back at the start of Autistic Not […] The post When should I tell my child they’re au...| Autistic Not Weird
On 29th November 2009, my life started to take the opening few steps towards beginning to make some kind of sense. After a lifetime of knowing I was different somehow to the general population (and too many years believing myself to be ‘lesser’ rather than different), a family member finally gave me an explanation for why, and it started a mental revolution for me. My attitude towards my own brain has changed enormously: what started as a secret word to […] The post Ten years ago today,...| Autistic Not Weird
A few years ago, one of my articles received this comment. “F*** YOU F***YOU F***YOU.You don’t even know anything about autism. It’s a f***ing curse that controls parents’ lives until they finally die!F*** YOU”(Obviously, this| Autistic Not Weird
Content Warning: this article discusses the dangers of making children vulnerable to abuse and manipulation, but does not discuss specific instances of abuse. Not long ago there was a debate on a British morning TV| Autistic Not Weird
I wasn’t very old at all when I first noticed I was different. I didn’t have a word for it until I was 24, but my differences have rarely been a secret – to me or anyone else. And sometimes, sadly, other people make those differences an issue. They shouldn’t be any problem at all, but not everyone appreciates difference. This is another article I’ve put off writing because it’s such a difficult subject, but it’s clearly in high […] The post A brief guide to coping with bein...| Autistic Not Weird
I don’t like Christmastime. And I should be allowed to say that without being criticised for it. Don’t get me wrong, I love what Christmas stands for. But December is that month when Expectation Claus sneaks into your house, instructs you to follow all these traditions (whether you’re comfortable with them or not), and you’re not allowed to tell him you’re sad because everyone is supposed to be happy and joyous at Christmas. It’s the rules. Like everything else in […] The post A...| Autistic Not Weird
The internet is full of advice articles for parents. So just for once, this one’s for children themselves! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is my fiftieth article for Autistic Not Weird. So I thought I’d do something special for it. I used to be a schoolteacher (and now I work with autistic students outside of schools), and this is the advice I would give to children growing up on the autism spectrum. Something important before we begin: […] The post Fifty pieces of advice ...| Autistic Not Weird